Toby Wins
by That'sMyFiasco
Summary: A desperately needed piece of fluff, centered around our favourite HR representative. Set in a now AU season 4.1, with a bit of spoilers for the season finale.


Toby Wins

A desperately-needed piece of fluff by That'sMyFiasco

Disclaimer: No, not mine, though I've watched the last three minutes of _The Job_ several dozen times.

Spoilers through, er, I guess the season premiere, though the placing isn't especially important, as we're a little AU by this point. Also note: plus insomnia plus favourite-show-withdrawal gets you some interesting ideas...

* * *

Toby ran through the summer downpour, only stopping to catch his breath when he was safely inside the office complex's foyer. Dammit, that rain had come out of _nowhere. _Groaning, he looked down at his now-soaked new shoes. Ah, well. It's not like anyone would have noticed them, anyway.

With a nod to the security guard, he squelched his way over to the elevators, sighing in relief when no one else joined him. Sadly, already weary, he pulled out some sodden papers. The ink was running, and stained his fingers. _... At least it'll give me something to do._

However, as the doors slid open and he walked into the office, he soon realized that his plans were about to be changed. Papers and folders strew the floor, apparently just thrown there by an agitated Michael Scott.

"I can't do this right now, Pam, I _just can't deal with this right now._" His voiced was choked up, and he momentarily buried his head in his hands. Pam was carefully hiding the exasperation, sending a look towards Jim, who was (as always) standing nearby. Toby couldn't stop the wince that crossed his face- after earlier events, their new romantic situation was painfully obvious.

Meanwhile, Michael was pacing back and forth across the floor in front of the receptionist's desk. When his eye caught a damp Toby walking towards him, the regional manager let out a loud groan. "Great, look at this. You know, you just bring destruction wherever you go. First your family gets screwed up, now _my _family gets screwed. Are you happy now, Toby? Are you _happy_?"

Toby blinked, looking at Jim and Pam with a puzzled look. "Wh-Why, what happened?"

"_What happened?_ Oh my god, I can't deal with this right now, not with him here, I just _can't_." As if to punctuate the last word, Michael walked into his office and slammed the door, running around the small room and flicking the plastic blinds closed.

Once the noise from inside died down, Pam turned to Toby with a quiet smile. "Sorry, Toby, you know how he can be."

The statement was so obvious it didn't even merit an answer.

Jim shrugged slightly, inadvertently taking a step closer to the receptionist's desk. "Well, to put it in a nutshell, Ryan got the job in corporate, Michael's acting like he got dumped the night before prom, and I think Dwight and Kelly are on the verge of teaming up in a hunt for Ryan's blood."

Toby considered this a moment. "Oh. I see." Through the blinds, the camera crew got a nice clean shot of Michael holding the Office photo.

Sighing, Pam picked up the phone on her desk. Through the thin windows, they could hear the phone ringing in the office.

"What is it now, Spam? What new heartrending, traitorous, _Benedict Arnolding _news do you have to tell me?" Michael's voice cracked pitifully, and Pam bit her lip.

"Well, Michael," The receptionist exchanged a glance with Jim, as if trying to gain strength and patience from his encouraging glance. Toby stood awkwardly by the coat rack, debating between standing there some more and trying to slink away to his desk, unnoticed. "You have some interviews lined up today, remember? We need to find someone to replace Karen and Ry-"

Pam was swiftly interrupted by the clatter of the phone and stomping footsteps as Michael rushed to fling open the door, his eyes terrible. "Replace? _Replace??" _Frantic, he smoothed a hand down over his wrinkled tie and through his hair, beginning to pace just outside his office. "You can't _replace _a member of your _family, _Pam, _especially _not Ryan."

Jim shrugged and stepped in, hands shoved in his pockets. "Of course not, Michael, but someone has to take over his job of selling- well, _not _selling- paper. Dwight and I can't handle any more clients than we already have..."

"You know what, fine. FINE!" The boss's voice raised from a shout to a bellow, and he stalked over to the coat rack. "DWIGHT. Come on. The rest of these _losers _might be ready to just give up on one of their brothers, but _I'm _not. We're going."

Eagerly, Dwight sprinted past the trio at reception, rain-hat already jammed down on his thick skull. "Certainly, Michael. What's the plan of action?"

This gave Michael pause for only a moment. "Does- does it _matter_, Dwight? I don't have time for stupid questions. Come on."

And off they went, Michael only pausing at the door to shout back inside, "Fear not, fearless employees of Dunder Mifflin! For soon, I shall have one of our own back among us at last."

Silence crept over the office then, half the employees looking out the door in astonishment, the other half sighing and starting in on their work. From the windows of Michael's office, the heroic pair could be seen running towards Michael's car. Apparently, Dwight owned rain-boots and a jacket that matched his hat.

"Soo..." Jim said slowly, eyes darting between Pam and the stunned Toby, "Who actually thinks they're going to bring Ryan back, raise their hand."

Pam and Toby just stared back at him, expressions blank.

"No one? Right, then." Nodding, the salesman glanced at Toby. "Would you mind running the interviews, then? Michael's already got one scheduled for this morning."

He sighed slightly, inconspicuously slipping his sheaf of wet paper into the wastebasket behind Pam's desk. "Sure, why not. I don't really have anything better to do, anyways."

"Thanks, Toby." Pam smiled at him gently, handing him a few messages written in her neat, looping scrawl. "She should be here any minute, so if you just want to wait in the conference room-"

Suddenly, coincidentally, almost as if the whole day was one great fantastic cosmic joke, the door swung open, ushering in a petite blonde wearing a sodden jacket and carrying an equally dripping bag. Though her light gold-toned hair was plastered to her skull by the driving rain, the young woman was still undeniably attractive, her eyes a clear, bright blue that sparkled quietly.

The trio standing at the receptionist's desk was completely silent, mouths hanging open in shock and disbelief. Slowly, Jim started to grin, realizing quickly just what Michael had missed out on by refusing to do the interviews.

Meanwhile, the blonde woman shifted uncomfortably under their gazes, self-consciously peeling off her jacket and attempting to pull the thin white dress shirt away from her body. "Er, I'm terribly sorry for showing up in such a state," she said quietly, her voice sweet and gentle. "The rain just sort of came out of nowhere..."

She trailed off lamely, a blush spreading over her rain-streaked cheeks. "Listen, I can go, come back another time, if that would be better?"

"No no, no need to do _that." _Pam said quickly, standing and moving to stand next to her. "Michael Scott- the regional manager- isn't exactly, uh, here right now, but Toby here can certainly conduct the interview. Right, Toby?"

Toby's eyes widened, and he took half a step forward, stuttering as he tried to force the words out of his mouth. "Of course I- I mean, sure, it's no problem. Besides, I'm probably in even worse shape than you are." Smiling, he tried to make his expression seem reassuring, and he was relieved to see her smile back.

There was silence for a moment, and Jim and Pam exchanged quick glances, mouths twitching slightly as they worked to keep a straight face. Finally, Pam broke the silence, saying kindly, "I can show you where the ladies' room is, if you'd like to clean up before the interview...?"

Quickly, the woman understood what was lacking, and she blushed once more. "I'm so sorry. My name is Juliet- Juliet Capricio." Names were quickly given by the other three, and Pam walked off with Juliet, leaving Jim and Toby in their wake.

Eventually, Jim spoke, a sly grin on his face. "So, Toby, you'd better get in there and wait for her. Gotta conduct that interview, you know."

"Right, right, of course," murmured Toby quietly, and he slowly began to smile. Grabbing his briefcase, he half-ran into the conference room, hurrying in order to look both casual and collected. Of course, not the easiest thing in the world to do when one leaves puddles behind on the floor as one walks, but Toby did his best, smoothing his hair and trying to smile in a way that wouldn't frighten her.

After a long couple of minutes, Juliet walked in the door, seating herself at the table while Toby rose to swing the door shut behind him. When he turned back, he saw that she had retrieved her resume from her bag and laid it on the table, with miraculously only one corner damp. He sat quickly, picking up her resume and scanning it in an effort to look busy, when suddenly a nondescript line of text caught his eye.

"Wait..." he began quietly, eyes lightening as they met hers. "You went to Penn State _too_?" The emphasis on that last word caused Juliet to look up, and the pair began to talk animatedly, conversation moving in leaps and bounds.

_**----------------------------**_

Jim leaned over the receptionist's desk, the pair both studying the closed door of the conference room, through which the faint sounds of happy conversation could be heard. "Well," he drawled as he turned back to Pam, his expression more than a little amused., "Looks like Toby's getting the better end of this deal." Pam chuckled slightly, though her eyes were still more incredulous than not.

After a few more moments, Jim wandered back to his desk, the workday continuing despite the considerable amount of chatter coming from behind the conference room door. The workday went on, quiet and uncharacteristically productive, thanks to the lack of the regional manager and his assistant.

Some time later, the rain was still as hard and driving. Slowly, the door creaked open, with Toby ushering Juliet out by a hand on the small of her back. As she collected herself, she turned to Toby, handing him a small card. "I know my phone number was on the resume, but this is my cell... in case you need to get a hold of me." The dumbfounded man was speechless, and he stared at her with an incredulous expression while she made her quiet goodbye Pam.

Once the door had safely clicked shut behind her, Toby let out the breath he hadn't been aware he was holding, slowly spinning around to face Jim. The salesman chuckles kindly, eyes twinkling with camaraderie. "So, Toby, looks like that interview went well, huh?" Toby only nodded in response, still quiet.

Finally, Toby began to head back to his desk, business card still clutched tightly in one hand. Suddenly, the door flew open with a great slam, allowing Michael and Dwight to slink back in with disappointed (and in Michael's case, pouting) expressions. Jim exchanged a glance with Pam before pointedly looking at his watch. "Hey, Michael. Must've made _really _good time, getting to New York and back so soon. Ryan waiting in th car?"

Crossing his arms, Michael made a quiet noise that seemed to be somewhere between a sniffle and a hack. "No, _Jim_, we didn't even get to _go _to New York."

"Okay, then..." Pam said, eyebrows quirked slightly, "Where have you been for the past, oh, hour and a half?"

"Please, Pamela," Dwight began, highly immersed in the time-consuming operation of taking off his rain-wear. "That is highly confidential information, and, as you are _not _the assistant to the regional-"

Michael cut him off quickly, his voice a tired moan. "We didn't have to go to New York, _Pam, _because we say Ryan by his _apartment._"

Jim's question of "Why would you drive to his apartment?" overlapped Pam's quiet, "But isn't he in New York already?" Though Michael was apparently confused, he turned towards the receptionist.

"No, _Pam, _he is NOT in New York yet, which is why, _Jim_, we had to go there."

"And it was nearly a success," Dwight jumped in, expression mournful. "However, we did not account for Michael's driving skills when forming this plan."

"Okay, in my defense, guys?" Michael near-shouted, holding up his hands, "It is really, really hard to talk out the window AND drive. Besides, Ryan's insurance will cover it no problem."

Pam was speechless, but Jim's mouth twitched as he said, "I don't know about that, Michael- after all, if _you_ hit _him..." _

"Listen, I'm done talking about this. It's just not worth it." Spinning on his heel, Michael tried to make for a swift escape to his office, only to be struck by a sudden thought. "Hey, what was that hot chick doing here? You know, the blonde one? Let me tell _you_, at least _someone _looked good in the rain, oh yeah!"

Toby finally spoke, stepping forward from his previously unnoticed position to address Michael. "Actually, she was here for an interview. I told her that the job was probably hers, in fact."

At no point before in history had a jaw dropped as far as Michael's did at that moment. "W-wait, you mean that THAT was the babe I was supposed to interview this morning? No, no, _no!" _This time, he actually did make it in his office, letting the door slam with a clatter.

Toby walked away with a smirk on his face, the little card still in his hand. _Today's been a pretty good day. And hey... no more Ryan... means no one for Kelly to talk to... alright... _From behind him he could hear Pam speaking to Michael through the phone. "Well, Michael, you still have three more applicants... No, they're all men... I thought that, now that you're back, you ought to do them... I know that that's what she said, Michael, I just said it..."

_Yep_, thought Toby, _today looks like it's gonna be a good day._

* * *

Finis.

Awright. I know it was fluffy, a bit pointless, and obviously a fallacy thanks to the first few precious episodes of season four, but I thought Toby _deserved _his own piece of fluff, as much as he's picked on in canon. Hmmph.


End file.
